No office rate
Use 25031 when the collection is in a forearm or wrist bursa; 25028 addresses a deep abscess or hematoma in the forearm or wrist.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
25028 Collection drainage Medicare reimbursement rates in Iowa
Reports operative drainage of a deep forearm or wrist abscess or evacuation of a deep hematoma when incision is required. Compare 25028 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Iowa.
Amounts below use the non-QP conversion factor for participating physicians. These are base physician payments before claim-level adjustments, not patient costs or total hospital charges.
What does Medicare pay for 25028 in Iowa?
Iowa has 1 payment locality in this comparison. Use the service location to choose the applicable amount. These are the supported base rates for the payment area shown below, using the same CMS release.
Office / nonfacility
No supported rate
Facility setting
$625.99
1 of 1 localities have a supported rate.
Payment area: Iowa
One mapped payment locality.
These are locality ranges, not averages or address-specific quotes. A facility-setting amount covers the physician service; it does not include a hospital’s separate bill. Choose a locality below to inspect its calculation, compare other payment areas, or price a percentage of Medicare.
Surgical procedure
About 25028: Deep forearm or wrist collection drainage
Reports operative drainage of a deep forearm or wrist abscess or evacuation of a deep hematoma when incision is required.
The surgeon opens the deep soft tissues of the forearm or wrist to drain an abscess or evacuate a hematoma. This is used for a collection that requires operative access, rather than a superficial skin-level infection or a collection limited to a bursa, tendon sheath, or bone. Orthopedic, hand, and other surgeons may perform the procedure in an operating room or another surgical setting.
Choose the code based on the collection’s location and depth, and document the affected forearm or wrist, the diagnosis, and the operative work performed. CMS assigns a 90-day global period, including the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care. In the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are subject to the standard multiple-procedure reduction. For bilateral procedures reported with modifier 50, CMS pays at 150%. Assistant-at-surgery payment is restricted; co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 25028
- Global period
- Major surgery with a 90-day global period: the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care are included.
- Multiple procedures
- Standard multiple procedure reduction: the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and others at 50% when performed in the same session.
- Bilateral procedures
- Bilateral procedure with modifier 50 is paid at 150%.
- Assistant at surgery
- Statutory restriction: assistant at surgery is not paid.
- Co-surgeons
- Co-surgeons not permitted.
- Team surgery
- Team surgery not permitted.
Where the value comes from
- Work RVU5.26 · 26%
- Practice expense (office) RVU14.27 · 69%
- Malpractice RVU1.07 · 5%
1.2K
Medicare services in 2024 · #2827 by national volume
This summary was written with AI assistance from CMS physician fee schedule data and checked against the CMS billing rules shown here. Rates on this page come directly from CMS files.
25028 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Iowa, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
Code 25020 describes decompression of one forearm compartment. Choose 25028 when the operative objective is drainage of a deep abscess or evacuation of a hematoma.
No office rate
Code 25035 is directed at forearm or wrist bone cortex. Code 25028 is for a deep soft-tissue abscess or hematoma.
Compare 25028 by payment locality
Find the payment area for your service address, then open its rate page for calculation inputs, release history and the percentage-of-Medicare tool. A city may cross payment-area boundaries; the ZIP lookup above helps resolve the location.
1 of 1 payment localities
Iowa →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$625.99
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How this local rate is calculated
Each RVU component is multiplied by its own geographic practice cost index (GPCI). The three adjusted components are added, then multiplied by the conversion factor. These are the inputs used for 25028 in Iowa.
PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv
2,374
- Code
- 25028
- Physician work
- 5.26
- Practice expense
- 14.27
- Malpractice
- 1.07
GPCI2026.csv
53
- Locality
- Iowa
- Physician work
- 1.000
- Practice expense
- 0.915
- Malpractice
- 0.397
| Component | RVU | Locality factor | Adjusted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physician work | 5.26 | × 1.000 | 5.2600 |
| Practice expense | 14.27 | × 0.915 | 13.0571 |
| Malpractice | 1.07 | × 0.397 | 0.4248 |
| Total RVUs | 18.7418 | ||
| Conversion factor | × 33.4009 | ||
Facility rate, Iowa$625.99
Explore RVUs, geographic factors and the full formula
Facility
| Component | RVU | Local GPCI |
|---|---|---|
| Work | 5.26 | 1 |
| Practice expense | 14.27 | 0.915 |
| Malpractice | 1.07 | 0.397 |
(5.26 × 1 + 14.27 × 0.915 + 1.07 × 0.397) × $33.4009 = $625.99
The office and facility calculations use their respective practice-expense RVUs. The facility amount here is the physician fee, not a separate hospital or facility bill.
25028 billing questions
How is this different from drainage of a forearm or wrist bursa?
Use 25028 for a deep soft-tissue abscess or hematoma. Code 25031 is for a collection involving a forearm or wrist bursa.
Does this code include evacuation of the hematoma?
Yes. Evacuating a deep hematoma is one of the conditions covered by this procedure; document its location, depth, and the operative work.
How should bilateral procedures be reported?
CMS lists this as a bilateral procedure payable at 150% when reported with modifier 50.
What happens when another procedure is performed in the same session?
Under the standard multiple-procedure rule, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are paid at 50%.
Can an assistant surgeon or co-surgeon be paid?
CMS restricts assistant-at-surgery payment for this code. Co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted.
What postoperative care is included?
The 90-day global period includes the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care.
Where these rates come from
FeeBase calculates base physician payments from CMS work, practice-expense, and malpractice RVUs, adjusted by each locality’s geographic indices and the applicable conversion factor. Unavailable or separately priced services are labeled rather than assigned a made-up amount.
Source: RVU26D. Effective 2026-10-01 through the day before 2027-01-01.
2,37125023,,Decompress forearm 1 space,A,,13.48,21.62,NA,21.62,,2.74,37.84,37.84,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,37225024,,Decompress forearm 2 spaces,A,,10.52,9.05,NA,9.05,,2.19,21.76,21.76,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,37325025,,Decompress forearm 2 spaces,A,,17.49,12.45,NA,12.45,,3.72,33.66,33.66,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,37425028,,I&d f/arm&/wrst dp absc/hmtm,A,,5.26,14.27,NA,14.27,,1.07,20.60,20.60,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,37525031,,I&d forearm&/wrist bursa,A,,4.15,5.86,NA,5.86,,0.89,10.90,10.90,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,37625035,,Inc dp bone crtx f/arm&/wrst,A,,7.46,7.82,NA,7.82,,1.59,16.87,16.87,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,37725040,,Arthrt rdcrpl/midcarpl jt,A,,7.31,6.95,NA,6.95,,1.45,15.71,15.71,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5006102,IL,15,SUBURBAN CHICAGO,1.007,1.027,1.772
5106102,IL,99,REST OF ILLINOIS,1.000,0.913,1.563
5208102,IN,00,INDIANA,1.000,0.927,0.486
5305102,IA,00,IOWA,1.000,0.915,0.397
5405202,KS,00,KANSAS,1.000,0.904,0.504
5515102,KY,00,KENTUCKY,1.000,0.889,0.915
5607202,LA,01,NEW ORLEANS,1.000,0.941,1.136